Macrorheology of cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease & normal sputum

Respiratory Research

Table 2 Macrorheologic characteristics of mucoid sputum from CF, COPD and normal subjects.

	CF (n = 4)	Normal (n = 7)	COPD (n = 8)	P value * (CF v COPD)	P value * (N v COPD)
G' @ 0.3 Hz (Pa)	0.54 (0.03–1.1)	0.39 (0.02–1.6)	1.4 (0.22–13.8)	0.109	0.054
G' @ 9 Hz (Pa)	2.25 (0.79–3.26)	2.04 (1.4–4.6)	4.5 (2.4–23)	*0.048*	*0.009*
η' @ 0.3 Hz (Pa)	0.24 (0.04–0.38)	0.15 (0.04–0.49)	0.41 (0.16–1.8)	0.154	*0.04*
η' @ 9 Hz (Pa)	0.03 (0.02–0.04)	0.025 (0.023–0.034)	0.04 (0.025–0.1)	0.109	*0.002*
*Log G (1)**	0.89 (-0.08–1.2)	0.76 (-0.06–1.3)	1.3 (0.7–2.2)	0.073	*0.023*
Tan δ (1)	0.87 (0.65–2.6)	0.93 (0.43–2.5)	0.55 (0.2–1.6)	0.214	0.094

(No significant differences between CF and normal sputum, p > 0.68 for all measures. Values presented are median (range). (1) -- @ 1 Rad s^-1, G' – storage modulus, η' – dynamic viscosity, tan δ – loss tangent, Log G* – mucus rigidity index. Log G* & Tan δ are dimensionless. * by Mann-Whitney U-test).

ISSN: 1465-993X